Always With Me

by Barbara Freethy

  "I shouldn't."

  "That's not what I asked, Gianna."

  "I just found the photo. I haven't had time to process."

  "You don't need time. A big clue dropped in your lap, and you won't be able to look away from it. Why don't you talk to your mom? See how she feels. Have you ever actually asked her?"

  "Not in a long time. Like I said, I put it all away."

  "Until you found the picture tonight. You can't un-see it, Gianna."

  "I was thinking I might ask around, see what I can find out. It doesn't mean I have to do anything."

  "But you would do something. You can't lie to yourself and say you'll just get to a name and that's it. Because it won't be it. You won't be able to go that far and stop. So, before you take the first step, you need to think it all the way through."

  "That's probably good advice."

  "All my advice is good, no probably about it."

  "You always were confident, Zach."

  "Tell me something… If you found your biological mother, what would you say?"

  She drew in a breath and let it out, indecision in her brown eyes. "I don't honestly know. I guess it depends on who she is—what her story is. She could be married to someone other than my birth father, which is likely. She might not want him to know about her past. And she could have other kids—children she'd want to protect."

  "There's a lot to consider."

  "There is. And what if I didn’t like her at all? What if she is a horrible person? Would I be better off never knowing than knowing that kind of truth?"

  "She could be wonderful."

  "You're not helping, Zach."

  "I'm just pointing out the different possibilities."

  "I need to think about it. It's not like anything has to happen immediately. I've gone this long without knowing, I can wait a little longer."

  He wondered if that was true. He had a feeling that picture was going to haunt her dreams until she took some kind of action. But it was her business, her truth to pursue, and he had his own problems to worry about.

  They finished the rest of their meal in silence.

  "Do you want more?" Gianna asked, as she put her fork down.

  He sat back in his seat. "I'm stuffed. Thank your mom for me."

  "I'm not going to do that," she said with a smile.

  "Why not?"

  "Because then she'd ask me a million questions about you."

  "Does she know anything about our camp romance?"

  "She knows that a horrible boy named Zach stole my necklace and made me cry for a few weeks."

  "Great. Maybe don't mention I'm in town then," he said dryly.

  "I wasn't planning on it."

  "We did have a great summer, Gianna."

  "I was really happy until the end," she admitted.

  "Me, too." Feeling like he was in danger of getting too deep into the past, he pushed back his chair and stood up, grabbing both their plates and taking them over to the sink.

  "You don't have to clean up," Gianna protested.

  "It's the least I can do." He rinsed the plates and put them in the dishwasher while Gianna covered the lasagna dish and placed it in the fridge.

  "Sorry I don't have dessert," she said.

  "I definitely don't need more food. We should probably head downstairs and get the truck unloaded."

  "That's right. We still have to do that."

  "It shouldn't take long. You had most of the pieces in your truck. Did you unload those yourself?" he asked, as they moved down the stairs.

  "No. My aunt has a college kid who works part-time and provides the occasional muscle. Tonight, that muscle will have to be you."

  "I think we can manage. You don't have a lot of room in here," he added, noting the crowded storeroom. "Your aunt has a lot of stuff."

  "Yes, she does. She had just picked up quite a few items from an estate sale when she broke her leg. She didn't have time to tag the pieces or get them into the showroom. That will be one of my jobs. But my main goal is to get the store opened tomorrow in time for the weekend."

  "Does your aunt have any other help besides the muscle?"

  "She has two other part-time employees, but my aunt has always considered this store her baby, and she spends all her time tending to it. She doesn't give up control easily. She didn't feel comfortable with one of her employees taking over in her absence, and apparently none of them wanted to work full-time, so she was thrilled when I offered to come and help out. I used to work here when I was in high school. It has been awhile, but I think I can handle the business."

  "What about other family members?"

  "Lois's husband died almost ten years ago now, and they didn't have any children. She has a lot of friends in Whisper Lake, but no significant other that I know about. Although, my mom did recently mention that Marty, a local handyman, seems to be doing a lot of projects around my aunt's house, so who knows…"

  They walked into the parking lot. He unlatched the back of the truck and hopped on. He grabbed a nightstand and pulled it toward the edge. "This one isn't too heavy." He set it on the ground.

  She tested the weight. "You're right. I can carry this myself."

  While she did that, he got the bookcase off the truck and onto the ground, as well as a small dresser and a chair. When Gianna came back, they moved the bookcase into the store, and then went back for the remaining pieces.

  "Thanks for bringing these," she said, as they finished. "You saved me another trip to the camp."

  "No big deal. We got a chance to catch up."

  "It was weirdly nice to talk to you again."

  He smiled at her choice of words. "I feel the same way. If you decide to look for that girl in the photo, maybe I can help."

  "Why would you want to do that?"

  "You talked about your desire to find your birth parents a lot the summer we were together. It weighed on your mind. I'd like to see you get the answers you've spent your entire life looking for."

  She stared back at him, measuring the sincerity of his words with a cool, speculative glance. "I'm sure you'll be busy at the camp."

  "I can make time."

  "How long are you staying in town?"

  "Several weeks. I'm not completely sure of my plans."

  "That's a long time. I thought you were going to say a few days, maybe a week. Don't you have other jobs to get back to?"

  "This is my priority at the moment, and I'm still working my way back into my career. The fire put a lot of things on hold."

  "It took you awhile to recover, didn't it?"

  "Too long," he said tersely.

  Her gaze narrowed. "I feel like you have another reason for coming back here, Zach. Am I wrong?"

  He shrugged. "Maybe not wrong, but I'm not ready to talk about it." He extended his hand. "Friends again?"

  She hesitated, then slid her hand into his. The warmth of her fingers sent an old, familiar wave of desire through him. Touching her had definitely been a mistake. There was an odd glitter in her eyes as well. The attraction that had burned so bright as teenagers was still there. That was both exciting and disturbing.

  He couldn't afford to be distracted by Gianna. He had too much on the line.

  They exchanged a look that went on far too long, and then she abruptly pulled her hand away from his.

  Before he could say good night, his phone buzzed. It was Mitch again. "I need to take this."

  "Of course. We were done anyway."

  He wasn't so sure of that, but he didn't have time to argue the point. "I'll see you later."

  "See you," she muttered, as he headed out the door.

  "Mitch—what's up?" he asked, as he got into the truck. "Did you talk to your parents?"

  "I did," Mitch replied, a heavy note in his voice. "They're not interested in working anything out with you. As far as they're concerned, you have no legal standing, and they blame you for what happened to Rebecca. I've tried to tell them the truth, but they've always had a blin
d spot where my sister is concerned. They've never been able to see her as anything but their perfect angel. It's always everyone else's fault."

  "Do they know I'm in Whisper Lake? That I'm working on the camp remodel?"

  "I didn't tell them, because I thought you might change your mind, knowing how they feel about you."

  "I'm not changing my mind, and I'm not leaving town anytime soon."

  "You should reconsider, Zach. My father is very powerful. He's on the city council. He can muck things up for you—for the camp. He has friends in the building department. Even if it wouldn't bother you to go up against him, what about your friend?"

  Mitch made some good points. He could go toe-to-toe with Ron Carver, but it wasn't just him; Hunter was also involved. "I'll think about what you said, but I want to see Hailey. Can you help me out?"

  Mitch didn't answer right away. Finally, he said, "I'm supposed to take Hailey to ballet class on Saturday morning at ten. We're going to hit the park at Grove Square after that. Anyone could wander by and say hello, but that’s all I'd let anyone do."

  His pulse jumped. "I'll see you then." He ended the call and drew in a breath. At least he'd get to see Hailey. That was a start. But a start to what? As much as he wanted to refute the Carvers' claim to Hailey, he didn't have any legal rights. What he needed was communication, understanding, compromise. Was he going to get any of that from Rebecca's parents? It was doubtful, but he had to try.

  He needed to see the little girl he considered a daughter. And she needed to see him. He didn't know why the Carvers couldn't understand that, but he was done being patient. He'd given them time to come to terms with their grief. Now, they were going to have to come to terms with him.

  Gianna opened the store at ten a.m. on Friday morning. She'd spent way too much time thinking about Zach the night before. There was something going on with him that he hadn't shared with her, and she was very curious as to what that was. But she was taking a hiatus from men, and she didn't need to get any further involved with Zach.

  Picking up a dust cloth, she wiped down the furniture in the showroom, moved items around so that they could be seen better, and tried to familiarize herself with the inventory, but there were a lot of items in both the showroom and the storeroom, and it would take time to know where everything was and how valuable, unique or historical it was.

  Two ladies came in a little after eleven, spending a good hour browsing, one eventually buying a set of silver candlesticks, the other a small end table. The items were inexpensive, but at least they hadn't left empty-handed. After that, the doorbell pealed every few minutes as more shoppers came to browse. The locals expressed their sympathy for her aunt's injuries, one leaving cookies and a few others dropping off cards. It reminded her how small and close the community was. However, there were also shoppers from out of town, some vacationing at the lake, others making a day trip to her aunt's well-known antiques store.

  As the clock ticked past one, the door chime rang once more, but this time it was Chloe who entered the shop.

  "How's it going?" Chloe asked, as she set a paper bag from the Big Sky Café on the counter.

  "It has been busy since I opened the doors, not a tremendous number of sales, but quite a few shoppers."

  "Your aunt has built a good business. People come from all over."

  "There are definitely more out-of-towners than I remember when I used to work here as a teenager."

  "I figured you'd be busy, so I brought you some lunch. Have you eaten yet?"

  "I haven't. And this is very sweet. I'm surprised you could get away from the café."

  "I have a doctor's appointment in a half hour, so I was on my way out."

  "Everything okay?"

  "It's just the usual checkup," Chloe replied, one hand gently pressing against her belly. "I thought you might be avoiding the café and other restaurants in town after your encounter with Jeremy yesterday."

  "I have to admit I'm not eager to see all the gossips and hear what they have to say about me."

  "There's no avoiding that, but there are plenty of people in this town who love you and care about you. They will have your back—myself included."

  "Thanks. It's really nice to hear that." She paused. "There's a sparkle in your eyes I didn't see yesterday."

  Chloe gave her a happy smile. "I heard from Kevin this morning. We actually got to video chat. It was good to see his handsome face. He's been gone so long."

  "How long has it been?"

  "Eight months. We didn't even know I was pregnant when he left." Chloe's eyes grew moist. "I had to tell him over the phone. This whole time he kept thinking he'd be able to get back, but every time something came up. There was a mission, the team needed him, he didn't have a choice—all the usual explanations." Chloe's sparkle faded with her words.

  "Are you all right?" she asked, as a tear ran down Chloe's cheek.

  "Don't mind me; I'm hormonal. I go up and down." Chloe wiped her eyes with her fingers. "I feel like Kevin has missed the whole pregnancy, and I'm terribly afraid he'll miss the birth."

  "I'm sure he won't. Aren't first babies often late?"

  "Yes, and I hope this one is, too."

  "Kevin will make it in time," she said confidently. "He'll move heaven and earth to be with you. He adores you. He has loved you since you were sixteen years old." She'd been there through their early years together, and there had never been a doubt in Kevin's mind, even when they were in high school, that Chloe was the one for him.

  "We've been together for twelve years, but the last five years Kevin has been gone a lot. I have to admit this isn't what I thought I signed up for. I just hope it will change after the baby comes, because I don't know if I can take care of our son by myself."

  "You're having a boy?" she asked with delight.

  "Yes. I'm going to be outnumbered by males."

  "I'm so happy for you. You will be an amazing mother. When we were kids, and we used to play house, you were always the mom, remember?"

  Chloe laughed. "I do remember. You were the artist visiting from Paris, Keira was the model or the fashion designer, and Hannah was the nurse. Funny, how we pretty much became our childhood dreams. Except for Keira, of course. I never thought she'd go into real estate, but after her mom had that horrible accident, she needed someone to run the business, and Keira jumped in. She's doing well, but I wonder if she's happy, if she's doing what she really wants to do. Anyway, we need a girls' night, which is another reason I came by. I spoke to Lizzie Cole, and she and her sister Chelsea are in for tomorrow night, as is Hannah. I'm still working on Keira."

  "That would be fun. I'd love it."

  "I'll text you the details when I have them. I've missed you, Gianna. I haven't heard much from you the past year."

  "I know. I've been feeling so embarrassed by my bad choices that I didn't feel like I should get in touch."

  "That's ridiculous. We all love you."

  "But there is something tragically flawed within me; I just haven't figured out what it is yet."

  Chloe gave her a sympathetic smile. "I don't think you are tragically flawed. Frankly, I was happy when you and Jeremy split, because he was wrong for you. I didn't know Victor too well, and I never got to meet Jeff, but if they weren't right for you, then the right guy is still out there. You simply have to find him."

  "I am not looking. I'm done."

  "Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe he needs to look for you."

  "I'm taking a break from men."

  "We'll see," Chloe said, skepticism in her eyes. "I better get to my appointment."

  "Thanks again for lunch."

  As Chloe left, another woman walked in. While she was pleased to see a customer, she was not as happy to see Helen Carver. She'd spent most of her teenage years at odds with Helen's daughter, Rebecca, including the six weeks she'd spent at camp with Zach, where Rebecca had been determined to get Zach for herself.

  Helen frowned when she saw her. "Where's Lois?" she
asked shortly.

  "My aunt broke her leg. I don't know if you remember me; I'm Gianna Campbell."

  "I know who you are. When will your aunt be back?"

  "Not for a few weeks."

  "Well, that's disturbing."

  "Can I help you?"

  "My husband put some furniture on consignment last week and I need to know where it is." Helen glanced around the room. "I don't see anything in here."

  "There are a lot of pieces in the back room. If this was last week, it's possible that it's waiting to be priced and put on the floor. I'm still playing catch-up. Is there something in particular you wanted to know about the pieces?"

  "I need to know if anything has sold yet."

  "Why don't I check with my aunt, and I can give you a call?"

  Helen frowned. "Can I look in the storeroom?"

  "I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to let anyone but employees back there. Is your number in the computer?" She opened the screen in front of her. "I know my aunt takes contact information for anyone who puts items on consignment."

  "That was my husband. I'll give you my number," Helen said. "Don't bother Ron with this."

  She picked up a pen. "All right. Go ahead." She jotted down the number.

  "Please call me as soon as you can," Helen said. "It's important."

  She didn't really understand the urgency in Helen's voice, but she wasn't going to question it. "I will."

  The door opened again, and, to her surprise, Zach came through the door. She hadn't expected to see him so soon, and she couldn't deny the spike in her heart rate. He really was an incredibly attractive man.

  "You," Helen said, fury blazing in her eyes as she looked at Zach.

  He stopped in his tracks, an odd expression crossing his face.

  "What the hell are you doing here?" Helen demanded. "How dare you come here? How dare you? After what you did? You're a murderer."

  "Mrs. Carver," he began.

  "Don't talk to me. And don't come near the house, or I'll get the police involved." Helen stormed out of the shop.

  "What was that about?" Gianna asked in shock, noting the pallor of Zach's skin, the furious look in his eyes. "Why did Mrs. Carver call you a murderer?"